Have you ever found yourself in a deep valley? Better yet, have you ever found yourself deep in the valley after you have determined to live your life according to God’s plan and his purpose? To be quite honest, this is the season that I find myself in today. As a born again believer who God has graciously forgiven of much, I just want to give back. I want to see other’s experience the love and forgiveness that Jesus has to offer and I want them to experience the freedom that his forgiveness brings. In keeping with that notion I pray often for God to use me and my life for his glory. I even take it a step farther and imagine all of the ways in which God may choose to use me.
While I have many wild imaginations of grand things that I may one day do for the Lord, what I do not have wild imaginations of is the training ground on which he may choose to prepare me for future ministry. You see, I have even come to realize that I may be fooling myself if I “think” I am ready to meet the call. God is showing me that often times I embrace the mission but despise the preparation.
A close look at Queen Esther, wife of Persian king Ahasuerus, reminded me once again of many things that I quickly forget. While we come to know Esther as the adoptive daughter of Mordecai, deliverer of the Jews, the Esther that we are unfamiliar with is Hadassah, the orphan. To be an orphan, in essence is to suffer great loss, having suffered the loss of both of her parents, Hadassah suffered great loss. The training field that God choose to use for Queen Esther was from its inception one of great loss. I have to wonder if the young orphan Esther saw herself as a queen, or on the contrary did she feel alone, abandoned, and forgotten? Did she see herself as the one who God would choose to deliver her people, or did she see herself as useless? These are questions for which scripture does not give us a clear answer, but I do ponder these things.
While we have no idea how Esther saw herself, we do know that God saw Esther as the queen who would one day deliver her people from the evil plot of Haman. You see, God sees our final destination when all that we can see is our current circumstance. God knew that Esther would one day be queen and for this reason was keenly aware of the life experiences that would train and equip her to fulfill her God-given purpose. The life of Esther should encourage and remind us that God has purposefully planned out the canvas of our lives because he knows what is needed to fullfill his ultimate purpose. There are many lessons that we can learn from Esther, here are just a few.
God will provide for us in our hour of greatest need. When Hadassah was in need of a father God provided Mordecai. God provided for Esther when she was unable to care for herself. In Esther 2:7 we read:”Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother.”
The majority of our lives will be spent in preparation. Esther spent the majority of her life preparing to meet the king! From her humble beginnings to her rise to the palace God was continually preparing her. Her preparation did not end when she arrived at the palace, it just took on a new form. We see in Esther 2:12 that before a young woman could go in to the king she had to complete twelve months of treatments. Six months with oil of Myrrh and six months with sweet odours and with other things. Myrrh was a fragrant, precious, and valued oil used for purification and healing. The preparation process brings forth purification, healing, restoration, and cleansing. Being faithful and committed through the preparation process is the very thing that allowed Esther to find favor with the king. In Esther 2:17 we read “And the king loved Esther above all the women and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.”
Those who are in bondage do not have to remain there. Staying in bondage is a choice! The real choice is the choice of whether or not we will surrender our will to that of the Father. Esther choose surrender. The ophaned Jew, born into exile became the queen of Persia. Not only did God make her queen, he made her queen of the greatest empire known in her lifetime.
It is often in the valley that we learn obedience. Esther did not allow the circumstances of her life to make her bitter or resentful but rather choose to embrace a life of obedience. Esther learned obedience in the house of Mordecai. Not only did she learn obedience in his home, she remained obedient to him even after reaching the palace. In Esther 2:20 we read “But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.”
Esther answered God’s call even in the face of danger. In Esther 4:11 we are told “All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called there is one law of his to put him to death.” While the thing that God calls us to do may not put our life in jeopardy, following God does come with a cost. There will be opposition to the mission and the opposition may come from places or people whom you love and respect. If we are to accomplish the mission set before us we will have to come face to face with our fears!
Esther did not use her platform for selfish ambition! She remained steadfast and committed to her people. Esther 7:2 “And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom.” At this point, Esther could have asked the king for anything and yet she made no requests for herself, she remained true to the task that God had called her to and asked only that the lives of her people be spared.
God is aware of the schemes of the enemy and he is at work behind the scenes preparing a way of escape. Esther 6:1 “On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.” God interrupted the kings sleep and through the reading of the chronicles made him aware that great honor was due Mordecai for his part in saving the his life.
King Jesus can interrupt the most divisive plans of our enemies and cause them to bring forth our greatest blessings. Satan is a defeated foe. God can and will use what satan has planned for our demise to bring forth his destruction and defeat. We see in Esther 6:10 that the king made Haman, tbestow on Mordecai great honor. “Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thous hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the kings gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.” God does not stop here, as in the seventh chapter of the Book of Eshter we see Haman being hanged on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai!
So, what does all of this mean for you and for me? What is the take away and how can we apply it? In its’ simplicity the answer is clear, God is in control! From the beginning to the end he knows what we need and when we need it! He has chosen the training ground on which we will be equipped to do what we have been created to do for His kingdom. Every season has been carefully designed and planned with precision to produce the character that is needed to fullfill God’s purpose. We need but embrace the ground upon which he has chosen to train us and be obedient in our embrace!
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